Belief and bereavement: the notion of “Attachment” and the grief work hypothesis.

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Abstract

Death and bereavement are both unavoidable points along the
imaginary of life, as we navigate lives that are punctuated by a
seeming infi nite number of events, including the eventuality of death.
For some individuals, religion appears to provide the theoretical and
theological frameworks that constitute the multiple socially and
culturally determined narratives through which one can make sense
of the eventuality of death and loss. This sense-making often entails
reconstructing and reassembling the grasp of the loss in a way that
reaffi rms core theological beliefs about the self and world, and the
world beyond.
This paper is a theoretical engagement with the widely held
conviction that religion and religious beliefs offer reflective tools
for accepting and coping with the death of a loved one and brings a
critical gaze to the notion of “attachment” and “continuing bonds”
within the context of the “Grief work” hypothesis. “Grief work
Theory” puts forward a model for “detachment” and severing ties
and bonds with the deceased to aid the process of coping with loss
and grief, and suggests that this severing is essential for the process
of healing, restoration and return to normality for the bereaved.
However, the paper engages with the view that religious frameworks and “death specifi c beliefs” offer a form of ‘attachment’ or ‘continuing
relationship’ that is healthy and benefi cial rather than pathological,
and is more in accordance with insights from later grief research and
‘Continuing bonds Theory’. By peeling back the theoretical wrappings
around the notion of attachment, more specifi cally within grief and
death counselling, the paper attempts to lay bare a theological reunderstanding and re-contextualisation of ‘attachment’ in the context
of grief and bereavement, and bereavement counselling.